1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an approach for controlling a computer using touch sensitive tiles. More particularly, the present invention relates to an approach for providing a tile environment in conjunction with a traditional desktop environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computers are increasingly using touch-enabled screens for user interaction. The screen serves as both a traditional monitor as well as an input device. Objects displayed on the touch-enabled display screen can be moved around the screen by various user gestures, such as drag, flick, and spin. One challenge of traditional user interfaces is that each object is treated as a discrete object with no association between objects shown on the user interface screen. The lack of association between objects makes it difficult for the user to visually understand or recognize relationships between objects. Furthermore, as discrete objects can be located throughout the touch-enabled display screen, it is often difficult to locate an object even if a related object is located. Finally, to act on discrete objects, each of the objects is acted upon (e.g., in order to move or launch the objects) making it more time consuming for users to act on a set of related objects.